"The credit for UW Hospital's high rankings is shared by our physicians, nurses and staff," notes UW Hospital president and CEO Donna Sollenberger.

"Together, we committed to achieve and maintain high quality patient care, and this ranking adds to other recognition we have also received that is based on rigorous standards," Sollenberger added. "It is an honor to lead an organization that lives out a commitment to excellence every day for the patients we serve."

Of the nearly 5,200 U.S. hospitals U. S. News analyzed, only 176 scored high enough to be ranked in any specialty. Five categories - pediatrics, psychiatry, ophthalmology, rheumatology and rehabilitation - are ranked based on a "reputational" score alone.

The other 11 categories are assessed based on reputation and a mix of other data. The magazine listed the top 50 hospitals in 11 of the 16 categories and various numbers of hospitals in the categories ranked only by reputation.

UW Hospital and Clinics has been ranked every year since 1993. The hospital has also received a number of national quality-recognition honors in the last several years.